TSF - Safety at Sea Seminars

Safety At Sea Seminars

Timed to coincide with the biannual Vic Maui and Pacific Cup sailboat races, the Sailing Foundation conducts a two-day seminar on safe boating practices and safety equipment.

The seminar, designed and conducted by sailors, all experts in their fields, provides novice and experienced mariners with information and skills required to prepare for sailing offshore, boat preparation, handling heavy weather, recommended safety equipment, and emergencies at sea.

The two-day, US Sailing-sanctioned event is open to all cruising and racing skippers, crews and their families, recreational power boaters, as well as commercial fishermen. The program, endorsed by CRUISING WORLD and SAILING WORLD Magazines and sponsored by West Marine and Landfall Navigation, has evolved from the highly successful program developed by the Sailing Foundation and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. It incorporates the latest techniques and information available.

Lecture topics include: first aid, rescue at sea, heavy weather seamanship, weather forecasting, damage control and repair, communications equipment, navigation, and personal safety equipment. West Marine's Chuck Hawley moderated our 2010 event. Speakers included USNA's naval architect Paul Miller, Jim Corenman, Doug Fryer, Brian Toss, Carol Hasse and more.

Saturday's certified program is designed to meet the US Sailing requirements for Safety at Sea training for offshore racers in US events. The 2010 event included an optional session on Sunday, which provided hands-on training with in-the-water demonstrations, key survival tactics, man-overboard recoveries, flare procedures and helicopter evacuation. This session was designed to provide in-depth discussions, and set the stage for the training to be required by ISAF in 2012 for foreign offshore racers. As such, it was a logical preparation step for those sailors seriously preparing for independent, self-sufficient offshore sailing - both racing and cruising.

Click here for a summary of the 2010 Seminar.